History

When Marco Polo travelled the Silk Road in the 13th century, he didn’t need to master dozens of languages to conduct trade. Instead, he likely relied on interpreters or perhaps used merchant languages....

In the British Library lies a remarkable manuscript that shows the fascinating practices of Anglo-Saxon healers. The Lacnunga, a collection of nearly 200 remedies and prayers from the 10th century....

How Europe's most powerful dynasty engineered its own downfall through centuries of ill-advised marriages...

Dragons have long captured the human imagination, appearing in mythologies and stories across cultures and centuries....

The medieval word "Ananizapta" has fascinated researchers for hundreds of years, appearing mysteriously throughout Europe in different forms and settings. I first encountered it on the TV show Vikings, where it’s engraved onto Bishop Heahmund's sword....

“Uns ist in alten maeren – wunders vil geseit”—“In ancient tales many marvels are told us,” an anonymous poet wrote around 800 years ago, marking the beginning of one of history's most enduring stories....